Spring Breakout 2013

Donna and I, along with Ray and Judy Busch, took a road trip and went to Springfield Illinois this past weekend to attend the Illinois GWTA State event called Spring Breakout. They have this every year about this time. We had a good time and I’m going to do a recap here for those that might be interested. If you can find the time to make this event, I think you will enjoy it. They had around 55 people show up this year which is one of the largest groups I’ve seen go to this event and it was nice to see that many people get together to have a good time.
We left on Friday morning. Donna and I both took the day off. Being as we had this extra time to get there, I decided not to take the most expedite route. Just decided to kind of zigzag down south and east through Iowa. Wanted to do the more scenic route and check out some roads for motorcycle trips.
We stopped in Albia at the Main Street Café for breakfast. A small very quaint place. Homemade food. We watched a lot of our food being prepared the old fashioned way. And we watched the owner finish up making a homemade strawberry pie. Food was good and our conversations with the owner and the other workers was fun. I highly recommend this place if you are in the area.
After breakfast we continued on south and east. I missed my turn to the route I was going to take on the way down ( me? Miss a turn? Who would believe that? LOL ) so we ended up in Missouri crossing over on Hwy 24 into Quincy Illinois where we picked up the interstate and made a more direct route to Springfield. After getting to our hotel, where we met up with Jo and Bryan from Chapter P, we took a little rest and then went out and grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed to the host hotel. Bob and Pam Beverage from Chapter H also were in attendance and we met them at the host hotel.
The real event doesn’t start until Saturday but on Friday night they get together informally and just play some games or converse. Just enjoying each other’s company. It’s a good time to get to know people who you may have never met or who you may not see very often.
On Saturday, after a brief state meeting, they start the festivities. They
started with the opening ceremonies recognizing the attendees and
going over the schedule. After that, the fun begins. They always have
dirty bingo. This can be fun, we opted to do it at Thaw this year, and
they always make it a good time. If you don’t know what dirty bingo is,
get with us sometime and we can explain it. It really is pretty fun.
They also have a domino tournament, an auction, and 50/50 throughout
the weekend.
This year, we opted to explore the area instead of participating in the
games and whatnot at the hotel. We decided to explore some stuff
along Route 66. We stopped at an antique store at Williamsville north
of Springfield. Not really my cup of tea but it was a nice place and we
saw some neat stuff. After that, we ended up in Atlanta at a place
called Palm’s Grill. This place has been there since the late 1930’s. A
neat little place with a lot of history. Food was good. We tried a local
dish called a Volcano Pony. This is something they call a pony show,
which is a piece of bread with whatever meat you want on top of that
covered in homemade fries with a cheese sauce on top of that. To
make it a volcano shoe, they put homemade chili on top of that. Both
of us couples decided to each split one of these dishes and it’s a good
thing we did. Each plate full was enough for two people. We all
decided it was a fun thing to try but would probably not order it again.
Most didn’t like the cheese sauce. Either the flavor or the fact that
there was so much of it. Donna and Judy came up with some ideas on
how they would improve upon this dish. I will say, the chili they put on
top was very flavorful. I think the next time I go there, I would try a
couple of dishes one of the local regulars suggested. He highly
recommended a couple of things that are not on the menu but he says
they will make it for you anyway. He says the chicken strips are
excellent as well as the monte cristo. Both homemade. He did say to
stay away from the fish as it is not homemade. I tried a shake and it
was good but nothing super special. Donna and Judy tried some of
their homemade pie and both said it was really good.
After our stop in Atlanta, we meandered back towards Springfield to
be back in time for their supper. We just took it easy, on some back
roads and went through a couple of small towns checking out the historic sites in the area.
We got back just about the time our supper was being delivered. I personally thought the meal this year was very good. They had pulled beef and pork along with homemade potato salad and green beans. I enjoyed this meal more than any I have had there in the past. There was also plenty of snacks and drinks throughout this event provided by our hosts. You don’t go hungry here unless you don’t care for what they provide.
After supper, they had a short safety lecture. Some decent information put out and some good discussion. After that, we had a magic show put on by one of the members. He was very nervous and he obviously doesn’t do this professionally but he did a good job. Some tricks are better than others but he puts on a good show. After that, some got together to play more games and others just sat around and talked. We all had some good conversations with a number of the attendees. Around 10, we decided it was time to call it a night and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep for the trip back home.
Got up Sunday, had a quick bite for breakfast at the hotel and hit the road back. I checked out the maps and located the way I had planned on coming in and decided we would run this route backwards to make our way home. Coming out of Springfield on Hwy 125 to the north and west up to Macomb where we picked up Hwy 136 which takes you all the way into Keokuk. These roads are worth taking if you’re in the area riding. Or driving for that matter. From Keokuk we zigzagged up to Keosauqua, again on some nice motorcycling roads, where we stopped at Misty’s Malt Shop for a quick bite for lunch. Sadly, it seems as if the food is not as good as we remember it when Ben and Sherrill and Donna and I attended the State Line Rally in Keosauqua a few years ago. Judy had a grilled tenderloin and it was good. However, my loose beef sandwich and Donna’s hamburger did not seem to be of the quality we had when we last visited them. Ray had some ice cream and it was still very good.
After Keosauqua, we meandered over to Drakesville to show Ray a bar and grill that he has a t-shirt from. Eilene Baber gave him a shirt from here but he has never been to this place. It is called Ray’s. We plan on making a trip there this summer so we can all visit this establishment. From Drakesville, we went up to Blakesburg where there is an Air Power Museum that I thought Ray would be interested in since he has had some planes in his days. It is a neat display of stuff and if you are in the area, you should drop in and check it out. After this, we just pretty much made our way home. Back up Hwy 5 where they dropped us off at our house before making their way home.
This was a nice get away. Always fun to do trips like this with friends. Try some new things and share the experiences with one another.
If you can find the time, I would recommend putting this event on your schedule for next year. The event is fun and there is a lot you can do around Springfield with all the historic sights. No official date yet but it should be about the 3rd weekend in March. We will let you all know when we know more.